


Something Old

by afewmistakesago



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, In line with canon, as they say, if you like it then you put a ring on it, ouat spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 13:11:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10572003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afewmistakesago/pseuds/afewmistakesago
Summary: Belle gives Rumple something old, and asks him to give it back to her. Not quite a vow renewal, but a step on their path to happily ever after.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this filming photo (http://fuckyeahbelleandrumpelstiltskin.tumblr.com/post/159089070127/kyah-jones-on-twitter) of Belle wearing her wedding ring again. This takes place at the end of 6x19 in my mind, but it's not necessary for you to think that to read the fic.

He hadn’t expected his shop to have a visitor when he returned, and he certainly hadn’t expected it to be Belle. They’d been keeping a careful routine of when they met in the mornings, and when she departed after dinner. It was fairly precise, an easy enough pattern for two people who were scared to hurt each other again but were scared to live without each other. They had agreed, their son was first, and their relationship was second. 

Lately, he’d been noticing Belle looking at him differently, in a way she hadn’t in quite a while, - and even that morning, when she grasped his hand and insisted they were going to be okay. She was trying to support him as he was supporting her while they dealt with their strangest, and most life-altering situation yet. Their son.

“Belle,” he said, walking towards the counter. She looked up, as if she hadn’t heard the door.

“Hey,” she said, seemingly nervous. “I wasn’t sure when you were going to come back here.”

“I didn’t know you’d be here, or I would’ve been here sooner,” he said apologetically, standing in front of the counter.

Belle avoided his gaze. “I could’ve texted to say I’d be here,” she mused.

There was a beat of silence, and Rumple’s forehead crinkled in confusion. “Is something wrong? Or has something come up? With Gideon?”

Belle turned to look at him. “Oh! No. Gideon’s… the same. Everything’s as we left it. And your mother?”

He shrugged. “Still not giving me any real information on her plans.”

Belle sighed, eyes expressionless as she looked around the shop. “I swear, every time I’m here I think I see something new.”

“Something catch your eye?” he asked, still unsure why she was here. He might’ve suspected it was someone glamoured as the mother of his child, but Rumplestiltskin was fairly skilled at sensing magic. This was his Belle. Maybe she just wanted the company, and he knew he was the only person she would turn to for companionship right now, but she wasn’t chattering like she normally did. They’d spent much of their time together in comfortable silence, but this wasn’t it either. Something was definitely wrong, and she didn’t want to tell him.

“Actually,” she said slowly, taking a deep breath, moving her hands, his eyes drawn to a small black ring box in front of her. Belle opened it slowly, looking for his reaction. It was her wedding ring. He tried to keep his face straight, thoughts rolling quickly into his mind. Was she giving it back for good? That seemed rather useless, at this point. Though they’d been estranged, they both referred to each other as husband and wife in passing. Did she want to go through with a divorce? It hardly seemed like the proper time, but if it was what she wanted… he would arrange it. He remembered Belle complementing Ms. Swan’s engagement ring that morning, and while he hadn’t thought much of it, maybe seeing another woman’s ring spurred her into rejecting the one he’d offered her, for good.

She held it up. “What do you say?” Belle asked, voice wavering.

“I’m sure I could find somewhere to store it,” he said quickly. “But you’re under no obligation to return it to me.”

He reached to take the box from her shaking hand, wondering why she was so nervous. He wasn’t going to be upset she was returning a memory of their failed attempt at a proper marriage. Rumple hadn’t expected to see the ring again at all, in all honesty.

“What?” Belle asked, drawing her hand back. “I don’t want you  _ take _ it, I wanted you to put it back on me.”

Rumple stared at her, caught entirely off guard. His Belle, his darling Belle, began to ramble, as she was want to do in such situations. “I know it’s just a symbol, it hardly means a thing, really, because we’re married whether I wear it or not, but I saw Emma’s this morning and thought of mine and how I’d stuck it far back in one of my drawers. I went and found it tonight. You never took yours off, Rumple, through  _ everything.  _ I want to wear my ring again, I  _ want  _ to be your wife. I love you. For better or for worse, you know? You’re stuck with me, and I want to wear my ring so everyone knows it.”

“Sweetheart, I think everyone already knows,” he said drily, processing her words slowly. “We have a six-foot tall child running around town proving our commitment to each other. But I do love you, too.”

Belle laughed, quickly wiping a tear from the side of her eye. “I don’t even know why I’m crying,” she said meekly, stepping around the counter to stand in front of him. “You’ll put it back on?”

“If it’s what you really want, Belle, nothing would make me happier.”

“Really?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck, laughter mixed with a sob as she went on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

“Really,” he replied, and he could feel her smile. They stood like that, eyes closed, before Belle ended their embrace.

“Come on,” she said, waving her hand at him. 

Rumple couldn’t help but smile at her sudden impatience. “Alright, alright…” he murmured, taking the ring out, admiring it for a moment before turning to Belle, her eyes wide in anticipation.

She held her hand out to him, fingers slightly shaking. He felt deja vu for their wedding, that cold night in the woods when she’d stunned him with her breathtaking vows, remembering the elegance and simplicity of the ceremony. “In sickness and in health,” he said quietly, and Belle nodded.

“For better or for worse,” she returned.

“The highs and the lows.”

“The light… and the dark. I love you. It’s confusing, and it’s great and it’s terrible, but I’ll never love someone the way I love you,” Belle said, eyes filled with tears.

“And I love you, too,” he said, his voice catching unexpectedly on a sudden rush of emotion as he slid the ring onto her finger. He would have never imagined this happening in a million years, after everything he’d done to her, after everything they’d done to each other. Rumple supposed there was some merit to the idea of hope, to the idea True Love could cause crazy things to happen. He had no intention of losing her this time. She smiled at him, face crumpling as she embraced him again.

“I think you’re supposed to kiss your bride now,” she said, their foreheads touching.

“This isn’t a wedding, Belle,” he said with a slight smirk. He had all the time in the world to kiss her, and fully intended to, but he could still get away with a bit of teasing.

“It’s Mrs. Gold, to you, sir,” she said, pulling away and waving her hand in his face. “See this big shiny ring?”

“Indeed,” Rumple said, hands settling on her waist. “The man who managed to settle down with you must be the luckiest in the world, Mrs. Gold.”

“Must be, Mr. Gold,” she whispered, melting into him as he put his hand on her cheek.

“You are so beautiful, Belle,” he said, his thumb tracing her jaw.

“Shut up and kiss me, stupid,” she said, her hands traveling up his chest and landing on his shoulders, and he caught a glimpse of a devious grin in her eyes as her lips finally met his. It had been months since they’ve done this, not since their brief stint of time in the Underworld, but it was as familiar and intense as before. He felt her lean against the shop counter as her hands shifted to his hair.

“You - don’t have hair anymore,” she managed between kisses. 

“Problem?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow as they stopped to catch their breath.

“No,” she said with a shrug. “Just different.”

“A lot of things are different now,” he returned. 

“But we’re still good at this,” she said, and he nodded, and she kissed him again, slowly. This had never been a problem. It was the actual communication that was a problem, but the situation with their son had them being entirely honest with each other. They were stronger together than apart. When they broke apart, they stared at each other for a moment. 

“Well,” Belle said, glancing down at the ring on her finger. “This was really all I came over for.”

“That was all, huh? No intention to jump me?”

“I thought things might be… jumpy… if they went in my favor,” Belle said, feigning innocence.

“Is that so?” he asked, smiling as he stole another kiss from his wife. His wife. In every sense of the term. He thought he might tease her about the result of the last time she jumped him, but quickly remembered the distress on her face whenever they discussed Gideon and thought better of it. 

“Mmhmm,” she said, jumping when her phone began to ring. “It’s Emma,” Belle muttered, taking a step back from him and flipping it open. After a moment, she said that they’d be over quickly.

“What’s going on now?” he asked, and Belle motioned towards the door.

“Gideon and the Black Fairy were apparently in the woods and Emma thinks they’ve left some magic traces, or something?”

And so they were on their way again, because while they had enjoyed a few quiet moments, they still lived in Storybrooke. His mother was a looming threat and their son still a wildcard, but Rumple couldn’t help but admire the flash of Belle’s wedding ring as she turned out the lights in the shop. 


End file.
